Lottery Sales Increase

Kentucky Lottery sales are up this fiscal year, but officials say their games are no way to beat the recession.

From the beginning of the fiscal year in July to the end of February, overall sales for the Kentucky Lottery were up 5 percent, which is about $25.4 million.

Lottery Corporation spokesperson Chip Polston says while the games offer some enticing prizes, people shouldn’t spend more than they can afford on tickets trying to get rich quick.

“Look, if you’re going to play our games, play them for fun,” he says. “They’re designed to be an inexpensive form of entertainment and we designed them to be entertaining. Your odds of hitting a life-changing jackpot on any of our games are very, very slim.”

Polston says the sales numbers would have been even stronger if the January ice storm hadn’t knocked many retailers offline. The outage cost the lottery about four and a half million dollars in sales.